Brazil's southernmost state is preparing to build no less than four "tent cities" to house the approximately 8,000 people who are presently being accommodated in makeshift shelters as a result of the devastating record floods that have hit the area.
According to state officials, heavy rains since the end of April have created record floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul that claimed at least 151 lives and left over 100 more missing.
Almost 77,000 of the approximately 500,000 people who have left their homes are presently staying in public shelters. Scientists caution that it might take up to a month for the floods to stop and that many residents won't have any houses left to go back to.
For the thousands of people already taking refuge in schools, churches, and sports stadiums, the state government is constructing temporary buildings with private bedrooms, communal toilets, kitchens, and laundry rooms, according to Vice-Governor Gabriel Souza.
He said that, unfortunately, some of these people have nowhere to go.
He added that a lot of public buildings that are shelters will have to reopen, and the volunteers that work there will have to go back to their regular schedules.
Souza said the administration has found sites that match the necessary criteria to house the constructions in the state capital Porto Alegre and Canoas and Sao Leopoldo, which are nearby.
In Guaiba, a highly flooded city, authorities are also looking for at least one other suitable place.
It is estimated by the state administration that about 15% of the approximately 50,000 individuals residing in public shelters throughout those four cities will require longer-term housing in the makeshift buildings. It is anticipated that the majority will either find other accommodations, such as staying with family, or return to their homes.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has declared that it will be donating 108 temporary structures, commonly utilized in camp settings, to Rio Grande do Sul.
According to UNHCR representative Silvia Sander, these are those little, modular dwellings that can be put together in a variety of ways to shelter families, individuals, or create a space for volunteers to gather, for example.